TOP 36 - A School-Based Partnership for Firearm Safety

Publication Number: 2787.TOP 36

William F. Randall, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Emily Vander Schaaf, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

Background: Firearms are the leading cause of mortality for children and adolescents in the United States. Safe firearm storage also remains a problem; an estimated 4.6 million children across the U.S. live in a home with at least one unlocked, loaded firearm. Practicing safe storage presents one of the most tangible ways to reduce the risk of firearm-related injury and death. Numerous programs exist among community pediatric practices and academic medical centers to provide free gun locks and education to families in an effort to reduce firearm-related violence. However, there is little current evidence regarding community partnerships between pediatricians and schools to achieve this goal.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to develop and assess a school-based partnership aimed at improving families' access to tools and education for firearm safety.

Design/Methods: We developed a partnership with a public, Spanish-immersion elementary school in North Carolina for a quality improvement project to promote firearm safety. Another community partner, Project ChildSafe, donated 100 cable gun locks, each including information about how to safely store various types of firearms. We designed a flyer in English and Spanish utilizing resources from the American Academy of Pediatrics with additional information about firearm violence and safe storage practices. The school social worker was identified as a trusted contact for the distribution of gun locks and firearm safety information. In the 2024-2025 academic year, the social worker distributed a total of eight gun locks to families at a school-wide event. Additional lock distribution is planned for the 2025-2026 academic year through several school-wide events. We will measure the number of locks distributed at each event to assess the effectiveness of lock distribution in various settings, viewing each event as a new PDSA cycle to continually optimize distribution. We will also collect formal and informal feedback from school officials to assess feasibility, acceptability, and barriers to this partnership. In the long-term, we aim to sustainably build on this initial partnership by engaging the entire school system with statewide firearm safety initiatives such as North Carolina SAFE for Schools.

Safe Storage Saves Lives
Flyer created in English to provide to families along with cable gun locks.

El Almacenamiento Seguro Salva Vidas
Flyer created in Spanish to provide to families along with cable gun locks.